Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep24 - Puppy Play Groups: Benefits and Realities

This week’s conversation is the result of an interview that I did with Jean Donaldson a few weeks ago. In it, Jean mentioned that it’s now a “thing” not to offer puppy play groups for puppies. The thought is that allowing puppies to play will make them less likely to pay attention to their owners.

This raised a big discussion in the Puppy Culture Discussion Group, with many pet owners, breeders, and trainers coming down hard on the side of not taking puppies to puppy play groups. What I found through this exchange is that the theoretical truth and the practical truth do not always align…

In this episode, I discuss:

• The benefits and parameters for puppy play groups.
• Why there is a perception that puppy play will diminish attention to the owner and/or create hyper focus on other dogs.
• ​The practical limitations and realities of puppy play groups and thoughts for the future

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